‘Marketplace for predators’: Meta faces jury trial over child exploitation claims
Meta’s second major trial of 2026 over alleged harms to children begins on Monday,The landmark jury trial in Santa Fe pits the New Mexico attorney general’s office against the social media giant,The state alleges that the company knowingly enabled predators to use Facebook and Instagram to exploit children,The trial will introduce evidence that Raúl Torrez, the state’s attorney general, believes shows how Meta’s social networks create dangerous environments for children, exposing them to sexual exploitation, solicitation, sextortion and human trafficking,The lawsuit states that Meta’s design choices and profit incentives prioritized engagement over child safety and that it failed to implement effective safeguards.
The state accuses the company of allowing unmoderated groups devoted to commercial sex and of facilitating the buying, selling and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).“While the New Mexico attorney general makes sensationalist, irrelevant and distracting arguments by cherrypicking select documents, we’re focused on demonstrating our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a Meta spokesperson said.“For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most.We use these insights to make meaningful changes – like introducing Teen Accounts with built-in protections and providing parents with tools to manage their teens’ experiences.We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, and we’re always working to do better.
”The lawsuit follows a two-year Guardian investigation, published in 2023, which revealed that the tech giant was struggling to prevent people from using its platforms to traffic children.The investigation is cited several times in the suit’s filings.In an interview with the Guardian in 2024, Torrez said he believed Meta was the “largest marketplace for predators and paedophiles globally”.After a week of jury selection, opening statements are set to begin on 9 February, followed by the presentation of evidence.The proceedings are expected to last about seven weeks.
Social media companies have long maintained they are not responsible for crimes committed via their networks because of a US federal law that generally protects platforms from legal liability for content created by their users, section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,Meta’s attempts to invoke section 230 and the first amendment to get the case dismissed were ultimately denied in a judge’s ruling in June 2024, due to the lawsuit’s focus on Meta’s platform product design and other non-speech issues, such as internal decisions about content and curation,The New Mexico trial comes just a week after a high-profile case began in Los Angeles, in which hundreds of US families and schools allege that Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube have harmed children,The plaintiffs in the LA lawsuit allege the platforms knowingly addicted young users, leading to depression, eating disorders, self-harm and other mental health problems,The proceedings involve about 1,600 plaintiffs, including more than 350 families and 250 school districts.
Snap and TikTok reached settlements with the plaintiffs, while Meta and YouTube remain on trial.Each company has denied wrongdoing.“The fact that these cases are going to trial proves the section 230 dam is breaking,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project.“These are the trials of a generation; just as the world watched courtrooms hold big tobacco and big pharma accountable, we will for the first time see big tech CEOs take the stand.”Key witnesses for the plaintiffs in the New Mexico suit are expected to include educators and law enforcement officials, who will speak about the alleged harms and crimes they have witnessed take place on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and whistleblowers, who may reveal internal company discussions.
Teens and families who have experienced harm on the platforms are not anticipated to take the stand.Torrez and his team have already taken the deposition of the Meta chief, Mark Zuckerberg, and may play portions of it in court if he does not attend.New Mexico’s jurisdiction limits its ability to compel out-of-state witnesses to testify in person.On the lawsuit’s journey to the courtroom, the attorney general’s office has made several disclosures with fresh allegations.They include that Meta may have profited by placing advertisements from companies such as Walmart and Match Group alongside content that sexualized children, according to internal documents and emails.
Internal Meta documents obtained by the attorney general’s office show the company estimates that roughly 100,000 children on Facebook and Instagram experience online sexual harassment each day.Filings unveiled chat excerpts of users allegedly discussing how to lure minors into engaging with them sexually.A former Instagram employee testified in 2023 before Congress that his own daughter had received unwanted sexual advances on Instagram.When he notified senior Meta leadership, he said he was ignored.Among the evidence expected to be presented in court are details of the 2024 arrest of three men charged with sexually preying on children through Meta’s platforms.
This was part of an investigation dubbed “Operation MetaPhile” by the attorney general’s office.Undercover agents posing as children were contacted by the suspects, who allegedly solicited them for sex after finding minors through design features on Facebook and Instagram.The agents did not initiate any conversations about sexual activity, according to the state attorney general.Following a surge of activity from adults to one of these undercover agent’s accounts, Meta did not shut it down, and instead sent it information about how to monetize accounts and grow followings.A filing last week revealed allegations that Zuckerberg approved allowing minors to access AI chatbot companions despite warnings from the company’s safety staff that the bots could engage in sexual interactions.
Internal emails and messages cited in the filings reportedly show that “Meta, driven by Zuckerberg, rejected the recommendations of its integrity staff and declined to impose reasonable guardrails to prevent children from being subject to sexually exploitative conversations with its AI chatbots”,The documents detail an internal chat in March 2024 about parental controls for minors using AI chatbots on Meta’s platforms; one employee asked whether parents could disable the chatbots for their children,Another employee responded that it was a “Mark-level decision that parents cannot turn it off”,
NFL looking into messages between Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey Epstein
The NFL says it is looking into links between New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Tisch’s name was mentioned more than 400 times in emails relating to Epstein that were released by the US justice department last week. Tisch has never been charged with any crime connected to the investigation into Epstein.“The league is aware of the reports and Steve’s response. Our office will look into the matter to understand the facts,” the NFL said in a statement on Monday
Australia to face debutants Hong Kong in opening match of 2027 Rugby World Cup
The 2027 World Cup will get off to a low-key start with Australia kicking off against Hong Kong after the organisers opted against beginning the tournament with the Wallabies’ blockbuster pool fixture against New Zealand. When Australia were drawn in the same pool as their arch-rivals in December it was widely expected that such a mouth-watering fixture would raise the curtain on the tournament.However, with the first match taking place on Australia’s west coast in Perth on 1 October, organisers have opted to pit Hong Kong – competing at their first World Cup – against the Wallabies in what is sure to be a one-sided affair. The opening weekend of the tournament features just one fixture involving two tier-one nations – South Africa against Italy.Australia’s fixture against the All Blacks will take place on the second weekend of the tournament in Sydney, where a bigger stadium will maximise exposure
Pakistan boycott shows growing divide between cricket’s commercial needs and political reality | Taha Hashim
The announcement on Sunday, fittingly, was made by Pakistan’s government, a reminder that this episode goes well beyond a game of cricket. In a post on X, the government approved the national side’s participation at this month’s T20 World Cup, but with a significant caveat.“The Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15 February 2026 against India,” read the statement. The disintegration of this global tournament continues, that one line prompting serious concern for the sport’s economy. No further explanation was provided
Steve Borthwick asks for England fans’ roar in support of grieving Maro Itoje
Steve Borthwick has called on England supporters to give Maro Itoje “the roar he deserves” when he comes off the bench in his side’s Six Nations opener against Wales on Saturday.Borthwick has taken the decision to omit Itoje from the starting lineup after his captain missed the start of England’s training camp in Girona to attend his mother’s funeral in Nigeria. Jamie George assumes the role of which he was stripped when Itoje was handed the captaincy 12 months ago, while Borthwick has handed a first start since the 2023 World Cup to the in-form winger Henry Arundell and selected Tommy Freeman at outside centre.Itoje has played every minute of England’s past six Six Nations campaigns and has been used as a replacement only three times in his 97 appearances. His record in the Six Nations is all the more remarkable and the only other time he has been used as a replacement was on his debut in 2016, going on to start 44 of the next 48 matches after missing four in 2019 because of injury
Top players reject offer to have greater say in running of major tennis championships
The tennis pay row has escalated further with the world’s top 10 male and female players rejecting an offer from the grand slams to set up a player council that would give them a greater say in the running of the major championships.In correspondence sent to Wimbledon, the French Open and US Open last week, the players turned down the offer of a meeting with representatives of the three grand slams at the Indian Wells Masters in March and accused the tournament organisers of ignoring their concerns about pay and player welfare.“Before committing to another meeting, it would be more productive for the grand slams to provide substantive responses, individually or collectively, to the specific proposals the players have put forward regarding prize money at a fair share of grand slam revenues, and player health, welfare, and benefits contributions,” the letter states.The players have been lobbying for a greater share of the money made by those organising the grand slam championships since last year’s French Open when a delegation, including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, urged executives from all four tournaments to increase their prize funds to 22% of revenue by 2030, which would be in line with ATP and WTA Tour events.Alcaraz will receive AUS$2
Leopardstown success shows Dublin Racing Festival is galloping past Cheltenham on value
Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, had two reasons to be cheerful after the Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival (DRF) at Leopardstown on Sunday. His seven-year-old mare, Brighterdaysahead, had just won the feature race and she was cheered back to the winner’s enclosure by a sellout crowd that included several thousand visiting racegoers from Britain. “The Dublin Racing Festival has been a great success and certainly it’s the first time you’ve seen a lot of English people coming over for the racing,” O’Leary said. “It’s a great festival in its own right and they’re all very welcome. I hope they flew Ryanair
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